Death Wolf Interview

with Maelstrom (Vocals)

5th November, 2013

@ The Underworld, London UK

Interview by Caitlin Smith

Death Wolf live and breathe Glen Danzig. Beginning life as a Samhain/Misfits cover band, even when they departed from the covers and embarked into writing original music their music still drips with the influence of Danzig. The release of their 2nd studio album II : Black Armored Death this year has seen the band go from strength to strength, and vocalist Maelstrom reveals to Metal Rules that there’s no stopping them there.

For those people who don’t know about Death Wolf, tell us about your music.

Our music is very raw; it’s extremely raw. It’s brutal, it’s punk, and it’s metal. We have a lot of influence from our old culture, Old Norse mythology. It’s no more, no less; very simple.

Death Wolf Interview

So how did Death Wolf get started?

It was before I was in it. We started as a Samhain/Misfits cover band called Devil’s Whorehouse. Then they wanted me to join and we did a couple of releases with that and we quickly realized we wanted to do something else, something more our own. We are grown to something else so we became Death Wolf.

So, as you said, you started out as Devil’s Whorehouse. Why the change of name?

We were so much more; we were something different. We weren’t a cover band, we were not a tribute band anymore, we were influenced by so much more; bands like Amebix and the Cult. I come from another background and we decided it’s time we should do something completely our own, move away from what it was. That was fun; it was awesome.

Death Wolf Interview

Tell us about how a Death Wolf album comes together. Do you have any writing rituals?

No we both write lyrics, me and Morgan. I guess a lot of drinking and a lot of researching while drinking and then just molding it, putting it together. If it sounds good, its good and it’s too the point.

Death Wolf Interview

Are you kind of a jam band?

I live in the states and the other band members live in Sweden, so I go back and forth. It’s not a lot of jamming but we jam I guess when we meet. Verbally we plan it out and work out the themes and where we want the feeling to go with it, the ideas and the concept. Then they put the concept together and me and Morgan work out lyrics and stuff like that and mold it. That’s kind of how we do it.

Death Wolf Interview

What kind of influences do you use to write?

I guess Old Norse mythology; death, brutality and all those things that make you grow. The darkness, evil so to speak, that in our world maybe isn’t evil, it’s just something that makes you stronger, something we connect with with other people. The other side I guess.

Death Wolf Interview

Have there been any highlights playing with Death Wolf?

We played in Mexico, it felt like in the middle of nowhere, and to have all these kids coming out fully pained up: corpse paint, war paint. There are shirts and everything and they’re just going crazy and saying we never have bands like this out there. I think we were the second band out there to play the music we did. Marduk was playing as well, so it was really cool to meet rebellion, and a very cool place.

What’s next for Death Wolf?

Well we’re going to play tonight here, and then we’re going over to Belgium. We’re putting out an EP now, beginning of next year, that is pretty much done. Recorded everything, its going to be very, very different. You’ll see when it comes out, but its going to be very different. It’s going to be extremely aggressive, very raw. There going to be a lot of very heavy stuff, old kinds of sounds. That’s what were working on.

Death Wolf Interview

Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers?

Thanks for supporting. Listen; check out our new upcoming EP and album. Come out to the shows when were playing, we appreciate all the support we get and just stay fucking brutal!